No Longer a Little Girl
by Boo2020
Summary: Phoenix helps Trucy with her hair before a date.


Phoenix jumps a little as he hears a crash and a moan from his daughter's room down the hall. Normally he wouldn't bother her while she's alone, but the cacophony she's causing is worrying him just a little.

He slides off the living room couch and makes his way to her room, knocking on her closed door when he gets there.

He hears a loud sigh from inside. "What?!"

Ah, the sound of a moody teenager. He clears his throat. "I heard some noise, Trucy. Is everything okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine!"

"Are you sure?"

"YES, Dad!"

He swallows. He knows she's in a bad mood when she calls him 'dad' rather than 'daddy'.

"Can I come in?" he asks hesitantly, expecting a loud no from inside.

Instead he hears another sigh, and a very quiet "okay".

He opens the door and steps inside, spotting Trucy sitting at the small vanity she has in her room, a hair brush clenched in her hand and her top hat sitting on the surface in front of her.

She looks over at him as he enters the room, and he can see frustrated tears shining in her eyes.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" he asks.

"I can't get my hair right, Daddy," she says.

Phoenix raises his eyebrows. All of this over her hair? "Well, what's wrong with it? It looks fine to me."

Trucy sniffs. "I told you I'm going on a date tonight! I want it to look nice but I just keep messing it up and making myself look stupid."

Right, she did tell him that. He sits down gingerly on her bed across from her. "A date with that girl you told me about the other day?"

Trucy nods. "She's so pretty, Daddy. I don't know why she agreed to go out with someone like me."

Phoenix smiles at her. "I'm sure she thinks the same about you, Truce."

She smiles gratefully at him. "I just wanted to look nice, but maybe I should just wear my ponytail and hat like usual."

Phoenix sighs and reaches forward, placing his hand on top of her head and pressing his fingers into her scalp, effectively massaging her head, messing her hair up even further. Trucy closes her eyes. " _Daddy,_ stop it."

Phoenix chuckles, but continues, and she doesn't slap him away. "I remember when you were little, you always asked me to rub your head, like you were some sort of cat or something. You'd fall asleep at night in my lap from it and I'd have to carry you to bed."

Trucy smiles. "What can I say? It feels nice."

She looks up at him in disappointment when he takes his hand away. "Here, let me," he says, holding out said hand. She looks at him questioningly. "The brush," he says.

She hands it over to him, understanding his meaning, and turns back to the vanity mirror. Phoenix takes a handful of her hair in one hand and gently runs the brush over it. It reminds him of back when Trucy was a little girl and often needed help fixing her hair for school or affixing her little cape to her outfit. He sometimes misses that little girl, misses doing the things for her that she couldn't do on her own. She may not need or want his help as often now, but that doesn't mean she doesn't need _him_.

Trucy sighs, relaxing as she feels the brush running over her hair, and Phoenix's fingers parting it to take another section in his hand to run the brush over that, too. It gives her a shiver, the feeling of someone else touching her hair. It feels nice though, and it's been so long since he's helped her like this. It reminds her of when she was little.

"Thank you, Daddy," she says quietly, watching him through the mirror.

He glances up at her and smiles. "It's no problem, honey."

She looks down again. "You know, my old daddy never would have done something like this for me."

Phoenix tries not to react much as he parts yet another piece of her hair to brush out the tangles. Trucy rarely mentions Zak Gramarye anymore, so it always catches him off guard when she does. As a child she'd taken to him so fast that he often wondered if that was _normal._ Did she not wonder what had happened to her 'real' dad? She never asked about him, and years later when she was fifteen and 'Shadi Smith' had been murdered, Phoenix knew that she knew who it really was. Yet she never spoke of it.

He isn't sure what to say, but luckily Trucy continues on.

"My old daddy… I don't think he would have wanted me dating another girl, either."

Phoenix finishes with the brush and hands it to her, switching it for a hair tie that she hands back to him. He gently twists her hair into a braid as he gathers his thoughts, and adds the hair tie at the end to keep it all together. When he's finished he places his hands on her shoulders, squeezing comfortingly.

"I love you no matter what, Truce. I want you to live your life the way that makes you happiest."

She smiles at him through the mirror. "Thanks, Daddy." She pauses, looking shyly down again. "Do you think she'll like the outfit I picked out?" she asks, pointing over at her closet door where a summer dress is hanging from a hook.

"I think you'll look beautiful, and I'm sure she'll think the same."

Trucy stands up, turning around to face him. She steps forward to wrap her arms around him, pressing her cheek into his chest. He circles his arms around her, hugging her tightly. She's growing up, but at least she isn't too proud to hug her dad.

"Thank you again for the help," she murmurs.

"You're welcome, Truce. You should get dressed now. You don't want to be late. Where are you two going, anyway?"

Trucy pulls the dress off the hanger and lays it out on her bed. "Dinner and a movie, of course."

"Oh, of course."

Trucy grins. "Shoo now, Daddy, I need to get dressed."

He nods, but steps forward first to place a kiss on her forehead. "Have fun tonight, okay?"

"I will."

"Good."

With that he leaves her bedroom, shutting the door gently behind him.


End file.
